Magdalena Waworuntu
Magdalena Waworuntu is Deborah Tabitha's volatile and ultra-busy professor friend and hereditary Javanese witch. Life Early life Maria Magdalena Karolina Waworuntu '' was born R.A. Magdalena Karolina Gs., on December 8th, 1976, to a Roman Catholic Javanese aristocrat family. Her parents, Fransiskus Xaverius Aria Gs. and Maria Mertadiredja lived in Menteng; with her father being a director of a state-owned bank, and her mother a prominent socialite. Magda went to St. Ursula School, where she befriended Deborah Tabitha, Ningsih Anggraeni, Kugar Sinaga, Ariana Sartika and Pauline Patrouw. Education Magdalena spent her primary to secondary/middle school years at the Convent of Holy Infant Jesus, Singapore, as her father was stationed there from the early 1980s. Academically, Magdalena was a child prodigy — by the ambitious guidance of her mother. When the family came back to Jakarta, Magda was enrolled at St. Ursula Girl's School where she befriended the girls. Magda majored Javanese Studies at Universitas Indonesia, where she studied the basics of the arts and culture, linguistics, and philology, and is the third generation in her family to have studied at the institution. She graduated in 1998, with a bachelor's thesis on the genealogy and historiography of Babad Banyumas. After completing her bachelor's studies, Magdalena continued studying Southeast Asian Culture at the Universiteit Leiden's Graduate School of Humanities. She later earned a Ph.D. from Universitas Indonesia, with the concentration of Javanese heritage and history. Young adulthood Until meeting the girls, Magda did not have much of a life outside of her family and her studies. By the time they graduated high school, she then caught up on a lot of things she missed in her younger years. Once an uptight student, Magda grew to be comfortable of herself, and to be more relaxed in various social settings. Magda and the girls particularly enjoyed making collage from magazine cut-outs, going to the movies, roller skating, and watching synchronized swimming. Later life During the years of her bachelors' studies, she met her now-husband, Johannes-Adrian Waworuntu, a historian/antiquarian and a classically trained fine arts scholar. Though their parents have been closely related over the years, Magda and J.A. did not meet until they both attended a social function, welcoming J.A's family back in Jakarta after his father completed a diplomatic posting in Bern, Switzerland. Twelve years her senior, J.A. is of Javanese & Manado descent who grew up as a third-culture kid. Their June wedding took place in Jakarta just a few months before Magda’s graduation. Magda and J.A. lived in a pavilion her parents’ house up until her departure to the Netherlands. In December 2000, they had a twin; Lukas Adityaputra and Natalia Indiraputri Waworuntu. The twins recently left to go to college at the United Kingdom, where Lukas studies Business Management at King's College London, and Alia studies Sanskrit at Oxford. In 2019, Magdalena continues to live in Pondok Indah with J.A. and their two German Shepherds (Hugo and Osbourne). Magda is currently a resident professor at her almamater, and an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore. Personality Austere and pragmatic, Magda was raised in strict discipline which she retains until later in life. She is up by 5, starts at 7, and is in bed by 11. Both Magda and J.A. has an extensive collection of Javanese ancestral heirlooms, (mostly keris) and performs cleansing rituals regularly. Books and manuscript dating from centuries ago are also included in her private collections. Magda's family came from a long line of Javanese aristocrats/''priyayi. Her paternal grandparents were prominent figures in Banyumas, Central Java — having served as the regent. Magda's lineage can be traced back to the Duke of Wargautama (c. 1500AD). Her parents moved to Jakarta long before they had Magda, but they still visit to conduct nyadran/pilgrimage, every Eid and Christmas. During their visit, they would stay at their holiday home in the hills of Mount Slamet. Down at the city center, her family inherits an ancestral home, named Dalem Pangeranan that is well-preserved for its historical and cultural significance. Albeit being raised in Catholic values, she was taught Javanese spiritualism early on, and then dabbled in Javanese witchcraft — as taught by her mother and grandmother. Magdalena proved to be an eloquent and powerful practitioner of the discipline. On her weekend leisure time, she still gets together with the girls. Category:Characters Category:Female Characters